At this point, it's a surprise to exactly . . . ahem . . . nobody that Our Man in LA can't always keep up with the grind of the daily blog posts. From time to time, I have to depend on the kindness of friends and relatives with a desire to put their voices out into the Internet ether.

Hence, today's lecturer, Rob Schumann. By the way, that's a photo of Rob (circa 1998) above, courtesy of Moecain.com.

Why did I choose Rob for this mammoth duty? Well, for one, he brings a distinct voice. For two, he's ranting about politics, and any time I can have someone else who shares my liberal views spout off, I'm all in.

For three, he's one of my only friends that doesn't have a blog to call his own.

So here's Rob (now in Italic form!):

Did you see Sicko?

On a hunch, I checked out Conservapedia's "definition" of Universal Health Care and thought I'd attach it for you. It's rather humorous.

(Editor's note: here's what Conservapedia says about Universal Health Care -- in bold.)

On Friday, June 29th, 2007, the new Michael Moore movie, 'Sicko', was released in the United States.

The movie is full of lies and propaganda regarding the supposed benefits of a system and uses extreme cases in both the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, and France in order to generate highly specific, false comparisons in order to persuade the viewer.

There are many Bible references which refute any advocation of Universal Health Care:

Thou shalt not steal (Exodus 20:15)

Cursed is the man who moves his neighbor’s boundary stone (Deuteronomy 27:17)

For even when we were with you, this we commanded you, that if any would not work, neither should he eat (II Thessalonians 3:10)

What Mr. Moore fails to realize, and what perhaps the people of every industrialized nation in the world except for the Great and Glorious nation of America fail to realize, is that it is unmistakably stated in the Bible that a person's property rights must be respected by others, lest they endure the fiery pits of hell. What he advocates here, not only the forced subjugation of our will by the government in order to take from the righteous and give to the weak and lazy sinner, but that already agreed upon contracts between individuals and corporations be broken just so that these individuals can receive "necessary care" that they "cannot afford" because they do not have the "means."

Those who are truly righteous in the eyes of the Lord labor hard, hard indeed, for their gains, and those who are genuinely deserving of miracles will have worked hard enough to be able to afford them. It is an insult to ask these same people to sacrifice themselves in order to appease those who commit one of the seven deadliest sins: sloth.

These people, these communists and fascists, who claim to be for the good of mankind, in clear opposition to everything right in holy in this world, simply have one quality: selfishness. They would rather see their expenses paid for by someone else rather than themselves. So those who have worked hard enough to be fortunate in the eyes of God shall facilitate the sins of others. Indeed, this is true lies at their absolute worst.

If one reads Luke 4:1-13, they would know that Jesus refused control of the political kingdoms of earth because it is a sin to have other gods above god. Also Jesus knew that true virtue is in the voluntary compassion of people to one another. Why should corporations sacrifice their profits while they are already doing so much to help the people of the world: providing them jobs which sustain them, and allow them to pay for what health care they can afford, day care, and mortgages. Also, as we know from his original campaign Our Leader encourages "compassionate conservatism", so the government is already promoting what is right. Those who advocate Mr. Moore's policies should consider being charitable themselves, rather than expecting the fortunate to do it for them.

Free universal health care is against everything God stands for, and thus must be prevented. Man is not meant to depend on the generosity of other man, thus leading him into temptation and sinking into depths of depravity. Due to this, the glorious free market capitalist stance that our country currently takes on this matter is Right and Just.

(Editor's note: Normally, Our Man in LA would say something like, "Mmmm, smells like fascism to me" or "How ironic is it that the only people who really believe in government-mandated survival of the fittest are the very people who don't want Darwinism taught in public schools?" But this is Rob's rant. Onward - in Italics!)

I don't know enough about the whole situation to make a firm judgment, and that's why I want to go with Heather just because she works in the medical field and has a better grasp of things. Now I know that Michael Moore takes extreme examples (duh!) but the basic points are still there: why shouldn't every citizen of the US get health coverage? It shouldn't compromise the level of care you're going to get, and you should still be able to get 2nd opinions, etc.... The specialized doctors will still be able to make their big bucks.

I love when people try to assume that Universal Heath Care means we're trying to give free care to illegal immigrants. Ughhhh. As much of a liberal as I am, I'm not someone out there saying that illegal immigrants should get SS benefits or be privy to free health care. We should try to make them legal citizens so that they can pay taxes and be...well...citizens. They didn't break the law any more than every other person who drives more than 55 on the highway, or anyone who ever drank alcohol before they were 21 years old.

Do you ever listen to Laura Ingraham? Total Conservative Nutjob on the radio... Comes on and reads a story about a carload of people that got into a chase and got into an accident killing 3 people. Horrible story...Turns out the driver and passengers were illegal immigrants, and she has the CAHONEYS to say "this is what happens when we just let them in...they don't pay attention to our rules, don't have insurance, and this is what happens." It was all I could do to not scream! Like LEGAL citizens don't drive like assholes every 5 minutes and cause accidents, killing people.

But back to health care (I really need to rant I guess...I need a blog...ha!), how is it possible that people's basic argument is "we shouldn't just be charitable and provide health care for those who cannot afford it." Who the F actually feels that way? I mean...did you see one of the BIBLE verses they attached trying to defend against universal health care: "Thou Shalt Not Steal." WTF?!?! How? Wha-?? HUH?!?!

Ughhhhh....I could go on, but I think I'm done blowing off steam for the moment.

Our Man in LA here. Really, there's much, much more. Once you get a good Shoes started, you just can't stop him. So we may have him back tomorrow. Tune in here.

And yes, I'll try to find a more embarrassing photo for the second rant.